My Search for "GOLD" at the National Archives

Good afternoon. I was honored to be invited to speak at the SAA conference. I
apologize that I could not be here to make this presentation in person, and I thank Rick
Barry for his hard work in organizing this session. I know that in leaving you, the
audience, with Dr. Greg Bradsher, you are in very good hands.

When I first thought of moving to Washington, I was warned "two topics to
avoid are religion and politics." Instead of heeding such sage advice, I moved to
Washington the week I graduated from college, and never left.

Today, I will address some important questions, such as: How did this story unfold? How
did dusty archival documents shatter the myth of Swiss neutrality, revealing that Swiss
banks laundered Nazi money, profited from World War II atrocities, knowingly accepted Nazi
loot, and intentionally acted to conceal these assets for 50 years? Lastly, why is this
issue unfolding now, 50 years after the Holocaust?

This chapter of the story begins in early 1996. Frustrated by unproductive talks with
Swiss banking officials, the World Jewish Congress turned to Senate Banking Committee
Chairman Alfonse D'Amato for assistance. On February 23, 1996 Senator D'Amato
wrote US Archivist John Carlin, requesting archival information on dormant assets from the
Holocaust in Swiss banks.

Assistant Archivist Dr. Michael Kurtz responded three weeks later, writing: "We
regret that we cannot undertake the extensive research necessary to identify the
exact documents which interest you. We will be pleased to assist your representatives in
using our finding aids and to make pertinent records available in our College Park
research room." The Senator's office suggested that the World Jewish
Congress pursue this lead. Not having a Washington office, the WJC needed a local
researcher.

This is where my role comes in... I was called and asked if I had time to do a short
research project at the National Archives -- expected to last two days to one week. I
accepted, and was sent to meet with Gregg Rickman on March 21. Gregg gave me the letter
from Dr. Kurtz, and offered the tip: "Safehaven, explore Safehaven..."

My first day of work at the National Archives II was on March 23, 1996. Although I had
research experience, I had never set foot in an archive. I met with a few archivists and
started with a cart of 13 boxes from the Office of the Judge Advocate General, War Crimes
Branch. On my second day of research, I found a 1945 US intelligence report from
Switzerland, on the Societe General de Surveillance, which served in a banking capacity
during the war. Noting that the main depositors were Jews, the report listed accounts of
182 depositors from 9 countries, people with names such as Leopold Lustig, Arion Samuel,
Isaac Feldstein, Solomon Shapiro, and Maurice Moishe Rothman.

I immediately rushed to Capitol Hill to share this information with Gregg Rickman.
Added and adjusted for interest and inflation, the amount totaled over $25 million dollars
-- and these accounts were as yet unclaimed, the report stated. This was at a time when
the Swiss Bank Association said that only $32 million dollars existed in ALL dormant
accounts from the war. This report showed that such information -- historical proof of
unclaimed assets in Switzerland -- could be found in US archival records.

Our search continued. One month later, in April, 1996, the Senate Banking Committee
held its first hearing on this issue. Research teams from law firms representing the Swiss
banks showed up at Archives, and the press followed. To insure equal access and
information to all, Greg Bradsher issued a Safehaven "finding aid" -- under 10
pages long. Now, this finding aid is a collector's item, as the latest version is
1,166 pages!

Using this finding aid as a guide, we explored the records of OMGUS, OSS, Treasury,
State Department, and Foreign Funds Control. As we tackled box after box, it was
fascinating to read more about Safehaven, and to see the myth of Swiss neutrality unravel.We learned that Switzerland supplied the Nazi regime with foreign
exchange and war materials, and continued this trade long after any real threat of
invasion. In the words of a 1945 Treasury Department memo, "as late as April 1945,
the Swiss were in cahoots with the Germans."

In the summer of 1996, the German magazine Der Spiegel noted the importance of our
discoveries and our College Park research efforts: "The avalanche of slime from
the archives is threatening to bring the entire Swiss banking center, today number one in
the world, into lasting disrepute."

At the National Archives, we learned about West Virginia Senator Harley Kilgore, who
chaired the Senate Military Affairs Committee in 1945. We found that his Committee, the
so-called "Kilgore Committee" discovered that Swiss banks had purchased looted
gold from Germany, and concluded that "These moves were made possible by the
willingness of the Swiss government and banking officials... to make a secret
deal with the Nazis." While it may sound cliche to cite this phrase to a group of
archivists, "What is past is prologue." 50 years later, there were
similar hearings, investigations, and even similar Swiss press reports.

I am regularly asked: Why now? Why is this issue coming to light now, 50 years after
the Holocaust? Operation Safehaven dissolved as alliances and resources were redirected
toward the Cold War. 50 years later, there was a unique, bipartisan commitment to this
issue on all levels. The survivors, now in their final years, courageously shared their
stories, legal teams worked pro-bono, and the researchers -- both amateur and professional
historians with a deep commitment to justice -- went through box after box of documents.

Last August, a historic, unprecedented $1.25 billion settlement was reached in the
Swiss Banks case. Of course, no monetary amount could ever compensate for the lives
lost, the children, parents, grandparents, families, and entire towns that were
obliterated. However, a long-overdue measure of justice was achieved. historical record
was corrected.

This important work could not have been done without the support and assistance of the
National Archives staff on all levels --especially archivist Dr. Greg Bradsher, who
demonstrated wisdom, patience, and tolerance in dealing with the continuing onslaught of
stressed researchers -- regardless of stance, foreign sponsorship, or disposition.

As Greg knows, it's not over yet. The Research Room at the National Archives is
booked to capacity as various teams continue to search for literal and figurative Nazi
gold. Buoyed by success of the Swiss Banks litigation, my firm now has lawsuits against
German Banks, French Banks, and Austrian Banks, as well as Holocaust-era insurance
companies, and German companies such as Volkswagen and Siemens that profited from the use
of slave labor.

In conclusion, as a result of my experience at the National Archives, I now have
tremendous admiration, respect, and even awe toward the archival community. I applaud you
and the important work that you do. Thank you.